Expert Concerned As Reports Of Incidents Continue To Emerge

A dog attack which left an Ipswich man with a severe bite to his hand has highlighted why the dangers of such incidents should not be ignored any longer, an expert at Irwin Mitchell has suggested.

Supermarket worker Matt Valentine suffered the hand injury when attempting to save his golden retriever from an attack by another dog – thought to have been a bull mastiff – in a park last week.

Talking to the Evening Star, the victim outlined that he suffered a deep wound in the incident which lasted around ten minutes.

Animal bite specialists at Irwin Mitchell represent a number of people who have been seriously hurt in dog attacks of this kind and have been concerned that the number of such incidents shows no signs of falling.

Katrina Elsey, who specialises in dog bite claims at the firm’s Sheffield office, said: “It is massively concerning to see reports of this nature continue to emerge.

“The past few months have shown that the issue of dog attacks is not one which is going away, with people suffering both serious and fatal injuries in a range of incidents.

“We have continually campaigned for better safety standards to be in place, specifically the introduction of compulsory insurance and dog licensing.

“It is vital that some consideration is given to such moves if the number of incidents is set to be cut in the future.”